March 13, 2009

Chettinad Vegetable Biryani

Firstly, a BIG Thank You to all of you, who took the time to stop by and wish us on our Special Day. Shankar read them too. Thanks for showering such generous good wishes & love on us, we do appreciate this very much.

Now, lets get going with what, I really love writing about, I guess by now, all of you know my undying love for one pot meals. They are really quick & tasty & makes a great option for weekday lunch/dinner.

As every food enthusiast would probably do, I have about 3 -4 versions of making a Biryani, the Chettinad variety being a recent additon to my ever expanding palette.

Chettinad Cuisine offers some really fiery & ultra spicy combination of spices which takes on a whole new dimension & makes you relish every bit of it. I bet, this will leave you asking for more.

I discovered this in the unlikeliest of places, Goa. Not so long ago, we were holidaying in Goa & we went to this small little restaurant by the beach. After gorging on junk food all day, I really was in mood for some rice. Not expecting too much, I ordered Chettinad Veg Biryani, thinking Goa wouldn't be a place for Chettinad cuisine. And, Boy how wrong could I be? The Biryai looked & smelled gorgeous & tasted great. That was my first ever brush with Chettinad cuisine.

I really wasn't into serious cooking back then, so I forgot all about it. I wanted to try this out ever since I statred this blog.

Here it is, very close to the one I had in Goa but quite not the same, nevertheless a yummy one ..

This list of ingredients is a little long, but its well worth the efforts.

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as we did

You Will Need:

Basmati Rice - 1 1/2 cups

2 red onions chopped finely

3 tomatoes - blanched & pureed

1 carrot - cut into thin sticks

1 potato - peeled & cut into thin sticks

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 green bell pepper - chopped

1/2 cup green peas - fresh/frozen

2 green chillies - slit lengthwise

2 bay leaves

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp Garam masala

Salt as per taste

2 tbsp Desi ghee/oil

Chopped cilantro/fresh coriander - for garnish

2 tsp lemon juice

To Grind:

1 small red onion

2 tbsp grated coconut - fresh/frozen

2 tsp ginger-garlic paste

4-5 dry red chillies

2 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp fennel seeds/saunf

A small stick of cinnamon

4 cloves

4-5 black peppercorns

4 green cardamoms

1 star anise

Method:

Clean Basmati rice in sevefral changes of water. Drain & keep aside for about 15 minutes. Heat a tsp of ghee in a frying pan & fry the rice till fragrant. This takes about a minute. Pressure cook rice or cook on stove top with water in the proportion of 1:1 or 1:1.25 depending on the quality of rice, such that each grain is separate. Set aside & allow it to cool completely.

Grind all the ingredients mentioned in the list into a smooth paste adding little water.

Hi Deesha, started preparing this Biriyani and notice that you have forgotten to mention to add the paste. But I'm assuming that we would add it after frying the onions and I'm proceeding with it. Will let you know after lunch. But I'm very sure that we are going to love it. The aroma is so appetizing.